Originally posted by Bass Aficionado Can anyone suggest a good source for aftermarket string thru bridges? I would like to replace the bridge on my Kawai.

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BA, would that be for a Kawai F2-B? I own one of these fabulous basses and, as an inveterate tinkerer, have wanted to swap out the bridge like you. Later models of this bass used the Schaller Roller bridge like the Kawai bolt-ons.

The problem lies with the location of the bridge in relation to the string holes. If your bass is like mine, the strings make a nearly right angle turn down into the body behind the saddle. This unusual geometry will play havoc with finding a bridge that has the holes located so that the bridge mounts correctly AND the scale isn't affected.

I've bought 2 bridges from Custom Shop Parts in the last year that have the holes just about where you need one. These were the "slim tail" design and were meaty enough so as not to give up that feature from the original bridge. That's all I can tell you for certain right now. I'm going to get one of the bridges and do an A/B comparison to make sure that it will work.